Canadian researchers receive $1.2 million investment from Canadian Frailty Network
Canadian Frailty Network (CFN) has announced seven awards funding patient-centred research projects.
“Today’s announcement about the first research funding competition is a major milestone for our new Network”, said CFN Board Chair, the Honourable Sharon Carstairs. “The funded projects will ultimately allow health care providers and professionals to provide seriously-ill elderly patients, their families and caregivers with the evidence-based information they need to make better-informed choices about the health care decisions they face.”
The awards were part of CFN’s first cycle of research funding, selected from over 20 applications. The projects are a mix of knowledge creation and knowledge translation, involving 47 investigators and research collaborators across Canada, the United States and Northern Ireland, and involving over 20 universities, hospitals and local health authorities. The projects will also provide cross-disciplinary training and educational experiences for 17 medical professionals and scientists.
Dr. Richard Birtwhistle, CFN Interim Scientific Director, stated that “the projects fall into four general areas: advanced care planning, end-of-life care, nutritional intervention and use of medical technology, all issues key to the care of seriously-ill elderly patients. The projects address topics such as how physicians communicate with patients about advanced care planning, equity of access to critical care, end-of-life care and practices such as when should life support be stopped, measurement and use of intensive care at end-of-life, integrating end-of-life care best practices into primary care physician electronic medical records, optimal timing for patients starting dialysis, and the use of probiotics to mitigate infections in critically ill patients.”